69th Tour de France 1982

Hinault Joins an Elite Group

Bernard “the Badger” Hinault returned the 1982 Tour de France with an opportunity to join an elite group of cycling heroes. Hinault battled several challengers on June 6, 1982 to win the Maglia Rosa (race leader’s Pink Jersey) in the Giro d’Italia. The Giro victory was his second in three years, and gave the Badger another chance to join Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, and Eddy Merckx as winners of the very difficult Giro/Tour double. 

SPECIAL NOTE: The trade team structure of the Tour came under fire in Paris at the end of 1981. France’s Minister of Sports, watching the Tour finish on the Champs Elysees, objected to the amount of advertising in the peloton. She said, “The groups of riders are a second ‘Publicity Caravan’. The Tour will have to be reorganized, perhaps to the National team format.” The Minister’s statement caused the Tour organizers great concern. The previous National team format failed when sponsorship money became scarce. The Tour needed the revenue from the sponsors to support the very elaborate production system of the race. Tour organizers argued at length and ultimately won the debate. No changes were made to the trade team structure of the Tour.

Bernard Hinault started the Tour with a bang. A master in the “race against the clock” (individual time trial), Hinault won the prologue in Bale, Suisse by 7 seconds over Gerrie Knetemann (Ned), and donned the first Maillot Jaune (race leader’s Yellow Jersey) of the Tour. Australian Phil Anderson grabbed the Maillot Jaune on stage 2. Unlike his short stint in Yellow during 1981, he held the Jersey for 10 days before surrendering it to the Badger on stage 11. 

In 1982, two protests interrupted the Tour for social issues. Tour organizers were forced to cancel stage 5 TTT, when striking factory workers stopped the race and refused to let the riders pass. The cancelled stage was later replaced by another TTT in Plumelec. 

Several weeks later at the start of stage 16 in Orcieres, angry farmers blocked the road with their tractor and delayed the stage.  After their point was made, the farmers allowed the stage to start.

SPECIAL NOTE: In the history of the TdF, protests of Tour related issues have occurred:

1904- Fans threw nails on the road in protest of unpopular disqualification of popular riders.
1966- Riders protested the first doping control, as an attack on the freedom of professional racers.
1968- Journalists protested race co-director Felix Levitan’s statement criticizing the media for breaking down the Tour image with negative articles. The journalists blocked the road and only let the riders pass.
1978- Riders protested an early morning start time (07:30) after a late transfer to hotels the night before. The riders rode the stage at 20 km/h (12.5 mph) and walked the final kilometer.

Once back in the Maillot Jaune, Hinault rode consistently and controlled all aspects of the race. His performance lacked the enthusiasm on previous TdF victories but his dominance was no less complete.

Hinault climbed with the climbers, beat the time trialers, and out sprinted the sprinters on the Champs Elysees. Bernard Hinault gained his fourth Tour de France championship and surpassed the great Louison Bobet on the all-time list of champions.

TdF 1981

TdF 1983

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